Chattanooga groups plan anti-Nazi protests

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – It will be a little less than a week after the Kansas anti-Semitic shootings last Sunday, when the hate group, National Socialist Movement, will be marking its 40th anniversary here at the Hamilton County Courthouse. The white supremacist group plans to have a “private meeting” outside the city, and then a rally (they have obtained a permit and audio equipment), complete with event speakers and will be 90 minutes long. They claim to be here to protest illegal immigration.

Many groups and organizations have in the works a number of actions that vary from prayer actions to Holocaust memorial vigils, counter protests and more. Chattanooga For Workers, Chattanooga Organized For Action, and a variety of other social media outlets will be publishing the specifics later in the week.

At this point, Chattanooga officials are unsure of what actions to take in response to the arrival of this group, but Mayor Andy Berke, who is Jewish, has said there is a safety plan in the works. Berke said he is upset to have this sort of event coming here. “It’s awful. I can’t stand having them in our city,” Berke said. “I don’t believe that it is productive or helpful to anyone, in the least. They have a constitutional right to assemble. We will make sure it occurs in a peaceful manner. And then I hope they leave town as quickly as humanly possible.” He added, “The last thing in the world that we want is to see this group in our city.”